Looking for input from NYC landlord-tenant attorneys or landlords who've dealt with something similar.

The situation:

- My tenant is on FHEPS (the NY state program). The program stopped paying from June 2025 to June 2026 — a full year of missed rent.

- The tenant's lease expired in October 2025, and I took the tenant to court on a nonpayment case (filed via NYSCEF).

- In May 2026, the program contacted me and said that if I generated a lease for the 2026 year, they could potentially pay me the back rent. Before doing anything, I asked my attorney — he told me I could sign it since the case was for nonpayment. I followed his advice and signed.

- Since then, the program started paying the current rent again, but never paid the year of arrears.

- The new lease has now expired again, and my attorney is telling me the case may be dismissed because I signed the new lease so he is trying to settle. The terms are TBD

My questions:

1. Is that right — does signing a new lease during a pending nonpayment case actually get the case dismissed, even when the arrears are from before the new lease?

2. If the case is dismissed, is there another route to recover the year of unpaid rent or get the tenant evicted. At this point I will settle for just eviction

3. Has anyone gotten FHEPS to actually pay retroactive arrears in a situation like this?

4. Since the step that may have hurt the case was my own attorney's advice, is this a situation where I should bring in a different attorney before the case is dismissed?

Appreciate any guidance, especially from anyone practicing landlord-tenant law in NYC.